Love Is Blind
by uberparagon
Summary: Love isn't always about what you see. Blinded in an 'accident', Weiss has to learn to cope with what she's left with. Meanwhile, Ruby is struggling to keep her head above water as her life seems to continue to slip further and further between the cracks.
1. Alone in the Dark

Ruby dragged her feet with each stupid step she had to take through the courtyard and into the boring brick building. It wasn't that she didn't want to be here, not really. She loved helping people, even if the helping part was several levels above the people part. But like all new things, Ruby was anxious to jump into a new place with new people. She would have much preferred to stay at home and doodle in her notebook.

That was in fact what she had been doing, right up until she was rudely interrupted by Yang. Her older sister was usually the source of great amusement, or great annoyance. But that morning she had been the bearer of unhappy news. Well, more like Ruby really didn't like what the blonde had to say.

To make a long story short, their father who would usually volunteer his time every Saturday at the rehab center in town had a work thing come up out of no where. This of course led to a series of events that had Ruby and Yang taking his place as helpers for the facility. It was in fact the same facility that their Uncle Qrow had gone to after _the intervention_ so the family was relatively close with the people who ran the place.

All of this would have been fine on any other day, but today was not a good day for Ruby. They didn't happen often, but every once in a while the young girl had days where she felt as though she couldn't accomplish even the simplest of tasks. Her head would pound and her back would crawl with an aching, empty feeling that was hard to forget. Usually, a handful of doodles in her notebook while she watched TV and sipped coco would have her right back to normal. But that wasn't an option today.

The glass door swung open for Ruby as she approached. Each step towards the door was smaller than the last until she was standing just outside the entry way. She really didn't want to do this. Not today. But before she could convince her feet to turn around she felt the ever comforting hand of her sister rest softly on her shoulder.

"Just relax, Ruby. We'll be fine. We're just gonna clean some rooms and talk to some people."

"I know I know." Ruby knew Yang just wanted to reassure her, but reminding the younger girl about the talking to people aspect was really not the best way to do it.

"Come on, I'll lead the way."

Yang took Ruby's hand in her own and led the pair through the still open door and into a modest lobby. Everything was a muted green with rich wooden accents. The place felt homey, or as homey as a care facility could feel. The carpet was so soft that Ruby could feel it through her boots. She was so distracted by this interesting phenomenon that she didn't realize that Yang had brought them right up to what must have been the front desk.

Seated behind the desk and apparently very busy on the phone and on his computer, sat an older gentleman with silver hair and thickly rimmed glasses. Ruby couldn't decide if he was old or his hair was just naturally that color. She was shocked when the man looked up from his computer screen and met her gaze. Her eyes widened in surprise and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Too much excitement for the morning.

"Excuse me for just one second," the man said as he moved the phone away from his ear.

"Hello, can I help you young ladies with something?"

His face was neutral but Ruby decided that he looked ready to smile at a moments notice. It gave him an undeniably friendly aura. He looked between the two sisters awaiting their response before a knowing grin made its way to his lips.

"You're Tai's kids, aren't you?"

"That's us." Yang replied cheerfully. She was always cheerful like that, maybe just a little too much so. But Ruby couldn't fault her for it. She secretly wished she could have even half as much charisma, especially on days like today.

"Why don't you go down the hall there and see if you can find a woman named Glynda. She should be able to get you two something you can help with. I'm Oz by the way, please feel free to come and find me if you have any questions."

Alright, thank you very much." Yang smiled at the man again before leading Ruby down the hall towards where they had been directed.

The halls were the same as the entrance, if a little less worn down by the constant foot traffic seen in the building's lobby. The weren't many sounds to hear this early on a Saturday morning. To Ruby, the only thing making noise seemed to be her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn't nervous, just, really ready to run away from anyone who tried to strike up a conversation. Not that she could actually walk away when someone was talking, that would be rude.

The hallway led to a large open room that kind of reminded Ruby of an airport. There were rows and rows of seats set out all over the floor. Some of them came with tables and some sat without. There seemed to be two or three older people sitting by the window, likely enjoying the view of a small garden area that brought color to an otherwise muted grassy field. The only other individual she could see was a blonde woman who seemed to be in the middle of wiping down some of the tables that dotted the lounge.

She grew slightly, less than not nervous, when Yang began guiding her right to the woman in question. Right before they stopped, Ruby made sure to take a deep breath and swallow the knot in her throat that definitely didn't come from social anxiety. The woman turned to them and gave them an inquisitive look before asking the obvious question.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"You bet. I'm Yang and this is my sister Ruby. We're here to help out today. Our dad usually volunteers on Saturdays but he had a work thing come up."

Thank god Yang liked people and talking so much. Ruby felt like even trying to open her mouth would end up badly for everyone involved. Maybe she should have stayed home. If she was feeling this sick already, what were the chances she gave someone else whatever ailment was clearly plaguing her? She didn't want to be responsible for getting anyone sick with her case of totally not stage fright.

"Oh, so you're Tai's kids. It's nice to meet you. My name is Glynda." The blonde woman smiled at the sisters before turning back to the table she had been scrubbing. She spoke while she worked, clearly still paying attention to the sisters.

"Would either of you happen to know how to make a bed or use a vacuum?"

"Of course. Ruby and I are master bed makers. Vacuums should be easy enough to figure out. I think."

Glynda smiled at the response, expecting as much from high schoolers. She continued to scrub away at the wooden surface and Ruby began to relax as she grew more familiar with her environment. No one was going to yell at her, no one was going to make fun of her, not here.

"Well, if that's the case why don't you follow me and I can see about getting you two some clean linens. You're just in time to change sheets in the east wing. The rooms should be empty. It goes without saying that you should not be doing anything other than making the beds."

"Oh you don't have to worry. Ruby and I don't have a single bad bone in our bodies."

Glynda smiled at the response shaking her head as she stood up from her previous position.

"Yep, you're definitely Tai's kids."

From there the blonde woman led the two volunteers down a new hall to another, smaller room. There didn't seem to be anyone inside but the walls were lined with dozens of shelves stocked with just about every cleaning product Ruby could name. From one of the shelves Glynda took down a neatly folded square of fabric.

"Each bundle should have everything you will need. There is a bed sheet, a thin comforter, and two pillow cases. Once you've changed the bed, you can take the dirty sheets to the room next door. We have staff who will put it through the wash. Sound easy enough?"

Ruby was still not entirely sure if this would be ok. Making her bed at home was always the worst part of cleaning her room. Not that she didn't like clean sheets or anything, it just took her forever to get the stupid fitted sheet to stay on the bed. Most of the time she would have to ask Yang to hold it down. Or do it for her. But she definitely hadn't had to ask for help in more than, at least, two weeks? Maybe?

"We've got it covered."

If Yang was that confident then Ruby definitely couldn't say no. For as loathe as she was to admit it, Ruby really wanted Yang to see her as an equal. Sure they were sisters, but Ruby wanted them to be like friends too, to have an even stronger bond. The fact that she had few other friends definitely had no effect on this desire at all, obviously. Yang of course thought of Ruby as the most important person in her life. But Ruby somehow still had trouble believing it even after hearing it everyday since before she could remember.

"Well I guess I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you have any questions."

And with that, Glynda turned and left the room. It was quiet for a moment before Yang went ahead and grabbed a stack of three sets of sheets and headed for the door. Ruby should have known she wasn't going to get any help making those beds. So with her head hung in overly melodramatic resignation, she grabbed a bundle of sheets and followed her sister out the door.

She went back the way she came and stopped outside the first room she found. The hallways felt a lot less cozy without Yang standing next to her. She gave the rather plain wooden door a quick knock and called out a meek hello but received no response. Assuming that meant the room was empty, she turned the handle and stepped inside, closing the door behind herself.

She made it halfway around the room with her curious gaze before she remembered what Glynda had said. She was just here to change the sheets. There would be zero snooping, even just with her eyes. Heaving another overly exaggerated sigh, the girl began the simple process of stripping the bed. The sheets came off without a problem and the pillowcases took only an extra couple of seconds to figure out.

Then of course came the hard part. Ruby first tried getting the opposite corners of the evil fitted sheet into place but that proved to be ineffective. The mattress would not hold the corners no matter how much Ruby yelled at them in her head. Not wanting to have to ask her sister for help so soon, Ruby decided she would try to get all of the corners on at once. It usually worked at home so it was probably her best shot at getting the stupid sheet to cooperate.

Of course, she forgot that her bed was only a double. These beds were several inches longer and nearly a foot wider than the one in her room. The result was horribly embarrassing and vaguely resembled a giant, pathetic starfish desperately trying to make a snow angel. Deciding that she had tried her best and that the sheet was just not going to cooperate, Ruby stopped flailing around and tried halfheartedly to smother herself in the sheet. Why did fitted sheets have to suck so much? She groaned into the mattress, cursing whoever had thought that such a cloth should ever be created.

"Who's there?"

Ruby bolted upright from the bed, on her feet as fast as she could. Had she not seen someone in the room? Had the occupant come back at some point during her little, meltdown thing? Had they seen her trying to put the stupid sheet onto the bed? How could she explain that?

"I know there's someone there. Did He send you?"

Scared to speak, Ruby instead used her time to assess just what her current situation was. Looking towards the door, she could see a girl who looked not much older than herself standing in the hall. The stranger's hair was a clean alabaster that was even brighter than the pale tone of her ivory skin. It flowed over her shoulders in delicate curls and obscured a good portion of her face. For a moment Ruby entertained the idea that she had been successful in her attempts to drown herself in the sheets and that this was some kind of an angel. That idea was quickly shattered when the girl continued to speak.

"He should know by now that I'm not coming back. Not after what he's done. Especially if he can't even come to talk to me himself."

Ruby's eyed bulged as she realized that not only was this not the after life, but that this girl thought she was talking to someone who was clearly not Ruby. How was she supposed to tell the girl that she was just here to change the sheets, or try to at least. Ruby's mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she desperately tried to find any words at all. Ruby knew she could speak, she had been doing it since she was less than two years old. But try as she might she couldn't think of a single word to say.

"Hello?"

The girls tone had very quickly shifted from upset to what Ruby could only describe as uneasy. What was going on with this girl? Ruby's head was spinning from just the unbridled awkwardness of the situation. But then certain details started to fit together in her head. How did this girl mistake Ruby for some, goon? The girl seemed to think Ruby was some person who was going to kidnap her or something. Why would she think that? Couldn't she see that Ruby was just some stupid teenager who couldn't even figure out how to make a stupid bed?

"I-I know how to defend myself."

Now the girl sounded almost fearful. Why would she be scared? Ruby could not figure out why this girl couldn't just see that she was-

…

Then it finally hit her, like an orca bound for orbit that didn't have the money to afford that third booster rocket. This girl was living in a rehab center. This girl couldn't see that Ruby was just there to change the bed. This girl couldn't see, period. Ruby almost hit herself over the head with how stupid she felt. How had she not realized it? Looking at the girl again, it was obvious that her eyes were covered in a thick bandage that seemed to blend into the whole white theme she had going on.

"Please don't hurt me."

The girl was now cowering on the ground, crouching, covering her head as if expecting a blow any second. Ruby was mortified by the scene before her. The girl must be absolutely terrified, coming back to her room to discover a silent stranger that she couldn't see or hope to defend herself from.

"I'm sorry!"

Not the best of introductions, but Ruby couldn't think of anything else to say to the poor girl. She really didn't have any kind of proper procedure for talking to new people, and this situation was not helping her one bit. In response to the admittedly overly excited exclamation, the white haired girl was still crouching down but seemed to have stopped cowering. Ruby could feel the fear the girl was experiencing. She had always been too empathetic for her own good.

Ruby moved to help the girl up off the floor but before she could take even a single step forward the stranger sprung, rather clumsily, to her feet. All of a sudden the scared girl that had just then been cowering on the ground was replaced with a woman who stood with her back straight and her head held high. She maintained a certain poise that reminded Ruby of a drawing she had made just that morning. Shoulders down, head back, foot forward, this girl might as well have been a fairy tale princess. But then she opened her mouth.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing in my room?"

The tone was biting and if Ruby hadn't been present just moments ago she would never have believed that the person standing there was capable of cowering. The complete one eighty in the girl's demeanor only further added to the amalgamation of proper etiquette Ruby was still trying to put together in her head. Still on the mental back foot, Ruby decided to try and explain herself.

"I'm just here to change the sheets…"

Her meek voice seemed to ease some of the tension in the strangers posture. The white haired girl slumped forward ever so slightly at the revelation, the scowl she had been wearing loosening ever so gently.

"Are you finished? I was quite hoping I would have a chance to rest."

Ruby's cheeks reddened as she was reminded at her spectacular failure to secure the fitted sheet to the bed. She was probably going to have to ask Yang for help after all. Unless this girl wanted to help her. This blind girl, who wasn't responsible for cleaning, who couldn't see what she was doing, who had no reason to help her. That girl. But it couldn't hurt to ask, right?

"Actually, I um… I could use a hand…"

…

It was a miracle. It had to be. Ruby could actually see the girl's eyes rolling. Covered in hair and bandages and only half facing her, Ruby could actually feel the girl's eyes spinning at the ephemeral stupidity she had just uttered.

"You know what, on second thought, why don't I just do it myself real quick and I'll let you know as soon as I'm finished."

How the hell was she supposed to get the stupid sheet onto the stupid bed?

* * *

Author's Note: Hello all. Hopefully you enjoyed this first of what I hope to be many chapters of this story. I've been sitting on this idea for a long time so I decided, with some helpful persuasion, that it was about time I actually start writing it.

For those of you who are curious, this is going to be a whiterose story. Other pairings are up in the air but I'm happy to take suggestions. It will be very heavily slowburn/buildup focused because everyone knows that's the best part of the story. I am currently as open to suggestions or criticisms as Penny is after this most recent episode so please please please, tell me what you think. What you like, what you don't like, things you want to see, thing's you don't want to see, all of it.

That's all I have to say for now. Hopefully I'll see you all again soon, but no promises. Keep reading, keep writing, keep being awesome.

P.S. Lewdness warning. There is definitely going to be some pretty heavy handholding once this story picks up steam so don't complain that I didn't warn you.


	2. Alone in the Light

Tuesdays are without a doubt the worst days of the week. The excitement and relaxation from the weekend has long since dried up in the harsh wastelands of Monday. The ever present dread of a week of school is still fresh in the mind. And worst of all, teachers love to pile on mountains of homework that they somehow expect to be finished in the measly four days before the next saving grace of Saturday.

Ruby had long ago given up fighting the doldrums of week to week school life. She would come home each day, rush through as much homework as possible before sunset, eat a hurried dinner with her family, and then proceed to spend all of her remaining waking hours at her desk sketching in her notebook. Art was her happy place. When she was drawing she didn't have to think about the stupid kids at school or the stupid planning for her future, none of it. She could lose herself in a world of knights and demons, of dragons and monsters.

At the moment she was just finishing with the first sketch of her newest piece. A tall figure standing proudly in a doorway, long hair flowing over noble shoulders. The heavenly apparition was inspired by the woman she had met during her brief stint as a bed maker person. Ruby's pieces often were a way for her to connect her real life with the whole world of excitement she kept in her imagination. In this particular case, she was trying to find a way to express how powerful the woman had seemed; the aura of collectedness she had exuded.

The woman had been rather intimidating. After she had returned to the room, Ruby had miraculously found a way to get the bed made using her shoes to hold the loose corners in place long enough for her to get the whole thing onto the mattress. She had wanted to apologize to the stranger for the delay after her rather miserable failure but had been very quickly cut off and told to leave. Not needing to be told twice, she had scurried out of the room as quickly as her legs would carry her, shoes in hand. When the door had closed rather forcefully behind her she had jumped at the noise and turned to see a name plaque on the door.

 _Weiss_

Ruby had rolled the name around in her head over and over, repeating it throughout the day as she continued to somewhat successfully make beds. As her bed making duties came to an end, her plan had been to ask someone about the girl, to at least try and convey her apology for being so bad at her job. But when the time had come to leave, she had not seen either Oz or Glynda. So instead of leaving a message for the girl, Ruby returned home with Yang and resolved to make something in order to prove she really was sorry.

That is why she was sitting at her desk, trying desperately to capture the sharpness she had seen in the girl's jawline. She wanted her piece to embody the strength and regality the girl had embodied. But with every line she sketched came two swipes with her eraser. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't quite get the face right. After several minutes of trying and failing to get the nose centered, she threw her pencil down in frustration and cradled her head in her hands. It was going to take a while to get it right. But she really wanted to finish it before Saturday. Then maybe she could go with her father and give the girl her drawing.

A quick glance out the window revealed the moon hanging in the night sky surrounded by hundreds of dancing points of light. Ruby loved looking up at the night sky. Seeing the stretching vastness of space and knowing just how small she was in the grand scheme of things relaxed her somehow. It made her feel like no matter what went wrong, the universe would keep spinning. Even if she messed up, the rest of the world would be just fine. Like she wasn't really all that important to anybody.

Looking back to her room, the alarm clock on her nightstand informed her that it was very much time for her to go to bed. So with a sigh of resignation she slid out of her desk chair and dropped down onto her bed, cocooning herself in her sheets. She never did like sleeping very much. Well, that's not exactly it. She didn't mind sleep per se. Sleeping was good. It made her feel refreshed and not crappy in the morning. It was the falling asleep part that was always the worst part of her day.

When she was out and about she had people around her to distract her, to engage with her and make her think. When she was at her desk she could let herself be absorbed in her art, exploring her imagination and her creativity. During the day she always had something to keep her mind occupied. But lying in bed, with no one around, no lights, no sounds, nothing… It made her feel so empty. Even cuddling up with Mrs. Snugglebites left her back aching, left her feeling the full weight of loneliness; an all too familiar sensation.

Unable to distract herself from the thoughts plaguing her, Ruby's mind wandered unrestricted. It brought her back to all of the things she wished she could forget: her mistakes, her embarrassments, her humiliations. All of them played on repeat as she searched desperately for the hand of sleep to grasp her. One memory, fresh in her mind, kept floating up to the surface. White hair. Thin fingers. Harsh tone. Biting words. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Fitted sheet. Biting tone. Harsh words.

Scared girl, cowering on the ground. Waiting for a blow that would never come.

Ruby did not find rest easily that night.

* * *

Author's Note: Yes, I know this isn't very long but I want to make sure I give you something. Hopefully I will have a more substantial chapter up soon. Till then, I'm still very interested to hear what you think. Anything you really like? Anything you really hate? Something you want to see? Let me know. I've got nothing else so here's hoping I have something up next week.


	3. Not Feeling So Alone

There is something undeniably magical about the feeling of another week ending. Sitting on the edge of your seat friday afternoon, counting the seconds until you're finally free is such a fantastic sensation. Knowing that you've made it one more week, that you're one step closer to being freed of all responsibilities, it fills you with determination. All of the things you can do with your time. All the things you probably won't actually end up doing even though you probably could and should do them.

When Ruby came in the front door and unceremoniously dumped her bag at the foot of the stairs, she was prepared to get stuff done. She flew up the stairs two at a time, sparing only a second to call back to her mother, welcoming her home. In an instant she was at her desk, canvas in front of her, brush in hand, ready to finish the last of the coloring for her gift for that girl. It had been all she could think about all week. She was feeling particularly proud of this piece. Unlike most of her art, this one seemed to actually look like her inspiration. She was almost sad she wouldn't get to keep it.

Her work was slow and deliberate. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes this late into the process. The last part of her painting was adding shadows and shading. She never was a fan of this part, but she knew that it made her art look twice as good as it normally would. So she grit her teeth and spent just over an hour and a half adding shadows that gave even more depth to the lofty image of her subject. When she finally decided that she had done enough the sun was more than halfway fallen out of the sky. It would be time for dinner soon. Not that Ruby particularly felt like eating. But it was always nice to sit down with her family.

On cue her sister came into her room, once again completely ignoring Ruby's constant pleading to knock first. It looked to Ruby like Yang had just run a marathon. Her hair was sticking to itself and her whole body seemed to be coated in a thin layer of sheen. Then again, Ruby couldn't think of a time when Yang didn't appear to be glowing. Yang just always gave off an infectious energy it seemed.

"Hey Rubes, Mom says dinner should be ready soon. I'm just gonna hit the shower and meet you down there."

Ruby simply nodded her head in response as she went about the arduous process of cleaning her brushes and soaking them in their cleaning solution. Stupid acrylics.

"Hey, that's a pretty cool piece."

Ruby looked up from her work to see Yang staring down at the painting with a look of genuine interest on her face. The thoughtful expression prompted Ruby to smile internally.

"Do you really thing so?"

If Yang actually liked her art then it had to be good. Double points to Ruby from Yang and that girl.

"You bet sis. This is probably your best one yet."

Ruby could feel her face warming at the praise. She wasn't used to compliments, especially not about her art. And to have it be coming from Yang, it made her hug herself internally in excitement.

"And it helps that the girl is a total babe."

What?

"Yeah, uh, thanks Yang. I worked really hard on it. I'm planning on giv-"

Did Ruby really need to tell Yang she was planning on giving it to somebody? Not that she wanted to be keeping secrets from her sister or anything. But Yang could be a little on the insensitive side when it came to her teasing.

"Planning on what?"

Ruby decided in that moment that it really wasn't all that important to tell Yang the whole story. It would certainly save her the embarrassment of trying to explain how bad she was at simple household chores.

"Nothing. I was just… planning on making a whole group of pieces like this. A kind of… exploration of etherial motifs?"

Big words were always a good way to lose Yang. Not to say that she was stupid, quite the opposite really. The blonde just tended to lose interest rather fast when heavy language started being used.

"Alright, Rubes. Well, I need to shower. I stink. I'll see you downstairs."

And with that the older girl took her leave and disappeared into the room at the end of the hall, towel in hand. When she heard the sound of the door close, Ruby released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and slumped down in her chair. She really hoped her mom had made pizza for dinner.

* * *

Crawling into her bed, pajamas on, teeth brushed, and art supplies put away, Ruby couldn't help but let her mind wonder. Dinner had been fairly uneventful as far as family time went. Her dad had told the family all about his day at work. Apparently the life of a stock broker was far more interesting than she had given it credit. Her dad had gone on and on about some guy named Steven. It seemed that Steven had managed to bumble his way through business school and make it into the world of day trading be pure dumb luck. But despite his complete lack of understanding of how any of his responsibilities worked, Steven had managed to make the most money that month of anyone in the firm's history. So that was exciting, or something.

It seemed Yang had spent all of her free time after school running, again. All of the past week the girl had been on a 'crazy health binge' as she called it. But really, looking at the way she stuffed her pepperoni pizza into her face, it seemed more like an exercise binge than anything. Which isn't to say that it wasn't a good thing. Getting some physical activity is an important thing to do everyday. Not that Ruby really knew anything about that. But she wasn't fat!

When finally there was a lull in the conversation, Ruby decided to ask her dad if she could come with him tomorrow to volunteer. It wasn't like he could say no right? Why would anyone tell their kid not to give their time to help out? Luckily for Ruby, her dad was happy to have someone accompany him to the rehab center. Ruby gave herself a mental fist bump at his affirmation. Damn she was good. Oddly enough, Yang also asked to tag along and Tai didn't seem to have a problem with it. Summer lamented that she was going to be left all alone at home. But she would still have Zwei to keep her company, lovable ball of fur that he is.

Ruby rolled over in her bed and wrapped her sheets closer about her shoulders. She really hoped that Weiss was going to like her painting. Yang was right, it really was the best one yet. Maybe she could even try and become friends with the white haired girl. In what Ruby hoped would be the first of many nights, she fell asleep with a wide smile on her face.

Tomorrow was going to be great.

* * *

Author's Note: Another short chapter? Yep. Busy as I still am, I want to make sure this story isn't forgotten.(By me or you) Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, some subtle set up in here if you look for it but otherwise just a more upbeat addition to the story thus far. As always, please please please let me know what you think. I'm always ecstatic to hear what you have to say so lay it on me. I'm still wide open to suggestions so keep those coming. Criticism is also appreciated as long as it's constructive. I'll be seeing you next week.


	4. Feeling Very Alone

How unfair is it that the weekend is the only time of the week when waking up early seems impossible to avoid? Any normal weekday is a struggle to even open your eyes when the alarm goes off. It's unfair! Weekends always seem to give us the energy we want during the week, right in time to no longer need it for the important stuff.

Of course, if you asked Ruby how she felt about being out of bed, dressed for the day, and bouncing nervously at her desk, she'd probably tell you she was glad she hadn't overslept. Well, maybe sleeping in would have been better. Then at least she wouldn't be dying of anxiety over every little thing while she sat at her desk waiting for ten o'clock to finally come.

What if that girl didn't like her painting? What if she didn't remember Ruby at all? What if the girl did remember her and hated her? There were so many things that could go wrong, and frankly, Ruby had decided that she was never waking up early again. There was just too much to worry about.

Thankfully, Ruby was able to recognize the very unstable slope she was sliding down with all of her doubts. Before any of them could truly get out of control, she started doing her breathing exercises to regain some semblance of peace of mind. This was a trick she had learned from her mother after she had come home from her very first day of school, panicked out of her young little mind.

All she had to do was inhale until her lungs felt like they were gonna pop, then make sure she released every little bit of air along with all of her different anxieties and worries. It had kept her sane for the past however many years and it still came in handy now and again.

With her mind and breathing back under control, Ruby started thinking of things she could do while she waited. She was probably going to be asked to help do more domestic work later. But just the thought of wasting her time practicing her bed making skills made her want to jump out the window. She would have to make sure she only worked with her dad or Yang this time.

She looked around her room slowly. Everything was fairly well put away so cleaning up wouldn't be useful. Her gaze lingered on her art supplies but she really didn't have enough time to start a whole new piece. What if she got distracted and lost track of time? Finishing her survey of her surroundings, Ruby realized that there wasn't anything for her to do in her room. What a pain.

Groaning as she went, Ruby lugged herself out of her seat and slumped her way to the door. She would just have to find something to do elsewhere. Her first destination was Yang's room. She really hated the thought of bothering Yang, especially with something as silly as keeping her little sister entertained. But Yang had said that she should come by any time she wanted.

Ruby knocked softly on the door of her sister's room. Yang might not have a good understanding of respecting other people's privacy, but Ruby sure wasn't going to just intrude on her sister unannounced. Ruby waited patiently for Yang to come to the door. After several seconds of super duper patient waiting, it became apparent that Yang was not going to answer the door. Deciding on a slightly less subtle approach, Ruby knocked again but gently twisted the door knob as she went so that she could peek into the room.

Obviously she was just doing this in case Yang had overslept and needed someone to help her wake up. She would never just barge in unannounced to try and peek at what her sister was up to. Peeking in through the small gap, Ruby was stunned by what she saw. It looked like Yang's whole closet had exploded and coated her room in a thick layer of discarded apparel. Standing in the corner, Ruby could see Yang doing twirls in front of her floor length mirror, modeling a very pretty floral dress.

Maybe it would be best to just leave Yang to do… whatever it was she was doing. Ruby closed the door as quietly as she could and turned to make her way down the stair to the kitchen. Her feet pounded on each step as she shuffled her feet over the fuzzy carpet that covered the staircase. Turning the corner to look into the sacred food room, Ruby was surprised to see that her mom was in the middle of making some kind of cake.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of it. She was always a sucker for cake, especially confetti. She wasted no time in bounding across the hall and into the kitchen. She needed to know what this delicious looking creation was for. There weren't any birthdays coming up. And Ruby couldn't remember doing anything worth celebrating recently, or ever really. Maybe her dad got a promotion or something?

"Good morning, sweetheart. How is the day treating you?"

Ruby always loved her mother's greetings. Her mom's rotating cast of hellos never failed to make her smile.

"Fine so far. Could be worse, I guess. I'm just looking for something to do while I wait for dad to be ready to go."

Summer frowned at her daughter's predicament. "I'm sure you have some homework you could be working on."

"Mom! Don't even say that. It's Saturday. No one does homework on Saturday. I can't believe you said that. I thought you were the cool parent."

"Honey, you must have realized by now that I am anything but cool."

"That's not true. You're the coolest. Just, not when you say stuff like that."

Summer laughed at Ruby's interesting take on the situation. Of course she would be silly enough to think her mom was cool.

"Ok then. As official resident cool mom on duty, I decree that doing homework on Saturdays is cool."

"Mom! Don't you get it? Homework is the ultimate in uncoolness."

Summer couldn't help but shake her head at Ruby's antics. The pair always managed to maintain a light hearted dialogue when it was just the two of them. They were definitely closer than Ruby felt to her dad. But she loved her dad too. Just as much! Her mom just had a different way of expressing herself that really fit well with Ruby's over reactive personality, when she actually showed it off that is.

"Fine, fine. If homework is so 'uncool', why don't you go play your video game things then. Those are cool, right?"

Ruby rolled her eyes at how out of touch her mom was. Technically, she was right, but that didn't excuse how ridiculous she sounded suggesting ''video game things'.

"You know what? I'll do that."

And with that Ruby did an about face and stocked off into the living room, not an ounce of ill will in her. Video games were fun. Ruby especially enjoyed adventure and role-playing games. They afforded her the option to live in a completely different world. That, or she could assume a completely new identity and could be a totally different person, even if it was only for a couple of hours.

* * *

It wasn't fair. Everyone knows that you have to call shotgun if you want to sit up front. Ruby stewed in the back seat looking at the back of Yang's head with contempt. Well, more like mild annoyance. But Ruby wanted to be mad and that's what mattered.

It had been after much longer than Ruby thought an hour had business being that her dad had finally come downstairs from his office and declared it was time to leave. Yang had since come down stairs in the same floral dress Ruby had seen earlier and joined Ruby in her struggle on the living room t.v.

As soon as the words had left Ruby's father's mouth, she had declared the sacred shotgun. She had smiled at her sister in triumph and perhaps a little more smug satisfaction than was warranted. Of course, Ruby was already halfway out the door before she remembered her painting. By the time she had flew up the stairs, grabbed the painting off her desk, and returned to the driveway, Yang was already sitting in the front seat, sticking out her tongue in a most unladylike way.

Ruby had simply grumbled to herself as she hopped into the back seat and put on her seat belt. Thankfully no one had asked her about the painting. Not that she was embarrassed about it or anything. She just, didn't want to have to explain it.

The ride over to the rehab center was very exciting. That is to say, Ruby was grasping at her armrest and holding on for dear life the whole way there. Her dad was what most would refer to as a lead footed driver. Obviously he followed all of the rules of the road, the important ones at least. He just kind of, lacked the ability to modulate how much gas he gave the car. Either the pedal was on the floor or her dad was mashing the breaks. It made for a very, exhilarating ride. Which was cool, somehow, probably.

The entrance way of the clinic was just as Ruby remembered it. The homey feel was still very much present, and Ruby felt much more at ease than she had last time she had come in with Yang. Just as before, the three of them checked in with the man behind the desk. He gave them all a warm smile and bid them a good day. Ruby couldn't help but return the man's smile, it was just so infectious. When Ruby turned away from the man she came to realize that Yang had run off on her lonesome. So much for Ruby working with her this time.

Picking up on his daughter's disappointment, Tai offered Ruby the chance to stick with him.

"You wanna help your old man? I might not be as cool as your sister but I've still got some life in me."

"Sure dad." Ruby couldn't be more thankful. No more stupid bedsheets for her.

They walked together down the hall and into the airport looking room. It was much busier than Ruby remembered it being the last time she visited. It looked like they were having some kind of event or something. People were gathered together in groups and were talking animatedly with each other. Ruby really hoped she wouldn't somehow get sucked into one of their conversations.

With that thought mulling around in her head, Ruby scanned the crowd looking for that girl. Giving the room a third scouring with her eyes, the disappointed girl decided that Weiss had to be somewhere else in the building. She had left the painting in the car anyway so it wasn't that bad. With that thought tucked away in the back of her mind, she followed her dad to the room that she remembered seeing all of the cleaning supplies in. Her dad loaded her up with far more things than she felt was necessary and led her back out into the hall. She could barely see over the top of her burden.

Ruby could already tell that it was going to be a long day.

* * *

Six stupid hours. Ruby had spent six hours helping her dad make beds and clean empty rooms and she had yet to see head or tail of her mystery girl. Ruby had passed what was supposed to be the girl's door nearly a dozen times throughout her workday. But every time she saw that dark wood it remained resolutely closed. Worse than that, where it had once read Weiss in gentle, sloping cursive, the name plate now was blank. What did that mean? Could the girl have left? Would Ruby never get the chance to meet her again?

Ruby's mind was filled with such doubts all throughout the day until her father finally told her it was time for them to leave. So much for getting a chance to apologize.

Ruby dragged her feet as she followed her father back to the lobby. She knew it was bad for her shoes but what did she care? She was really bummed out over not seeing Weiss again. Now she was going to feel bad about the whole thing forever. She had a rather nasty habit of holding onto things like this.

"You wanna wait here while I go find you sister?" her father asked her. They had made it back to the lobby and Yang was nowhere in sight.

"Yeah, I guess." Ruby replied. At this point she just wanted to go home and curl up under the covers.

"Alright, I'll be right back." And with that, Tai-Yang returned down the hall, phone in hand.

Ruby stood in the foyer awkwardly for a moment. There wasn't anybody coming or going, but she really didn't want to be in the way. Or draw any unnecessary attention to herself. Or any attention to herself. She glanced over at the reception desk and again saw the same cheerful man from earlier.

Would it be too forward to ask him if he knew anything about the girl? Was there some kind of patient confidentiality thing? Ruby pondered these complex conundrums ad nauseam in her head. Meanwhile, her body had already made up its mind and was making its way to the desk.

"Um, excuse me?" Ruby hated how pathetic her voice sounded. It was always like this when she tried talking to someone new for the first time. Even though the man seemed like the embodiment of friendliness she couldn't find the internal strength to raise her head any higher than was strictly necessary to establish eye-contact.

"What can I help you with, Ms. Rose?" the man asked, his reassuring smile punctuating his question.

"Would you happen to know what happened to a patient here? Her name is, uh, Wiess?" Ruby wanted to curl into a ball again. Why did she sound like such a creep asking that? She began wringing her hands to try and release some of her nervous energy.

"I'm afraid I don't know the patients here quite as well as I would like," the man replied. "Do you know her last name? Or perhaps her room number?"

The rooms had numbers? How had Ruby not noticed that before now? And she didn't know the girl's last name. What was she supposed to do?

"I, uh, I don't know." Ruby mumbled to her feet. Her left foot began trying to dig its way into the much too plush carpet.

"Well, then I'm afraid I can't be of much use." Oz genuinely seemed concerned that he couldn't help Ruby. But that was ok. No need for anyone else to be burdened by her problem.

"Thanks anyway." Ruby replied.

And with that Ruby turned and made for the door. She didn't want to stay in the clinic any longer. The feeling of uselessness and incompetence was becoming overwhelming. She needed some clean air.

She pulled out her phone as she made it out of the building. She sent a quick text to her dad explaining that she would be waiting at the car. Sticking her phone back into her front pocket, Ruby heaved a sigh. Why couldn't this one thing go right? Would it really be that much to ask for just this one thing to work out in her favor? She had worked really hard on that painting too.

The wait for her dad and sister was relatively short. But each minute she spent in the parking lot only lead her further down the path of self-hatred. Of course she would screw this up. When was the last time she hadn't screwed something up?

The car ride home was much more quite than the journey there. All three of them were pretty tired from their day of work at the rehab center. Dad mentioned seeing a buddy of his from high school. Some ex-military guy who joined the local police department after finishing his tours. Apparently he was at the clinic because he had lost arm in a shoot out. Ruby wanted to listen and care about her dad's story but she found herself drifting off into her own little world. Yang mentioned trying and failing to find some cutie but Ruby was so far gone into her bubble that she couldn't have cared less. At least Ruby still had her painting. Maybe she would do a whole set of similar works. Or maybe she should just burn the damn thing and pretend like it never existed.

Ruby laid back across the back seat of the car and looked up at the darkening evening sky. What she wouldn't give to just be one of those stars. Her life would certainly be a whole hell of a lot easier. And maybe less lonely as well. She'd be among millions and billions of stars just like her.

* * *

Author's Note: So hopefully that wasn't too bad. We're still in the buildup of the story so just hang in there, Weiss stuff will be happening very soon. Hopefully I wasn't too heavy handed here, there are a couple of hints towards what might be happening next chapter if you look for them. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed. As always, please let me know what you think. Compliments are always appreciated and so is criticism as long as it's at least kind of constructive. I'm also open to any and all suggestions so lay 'em on me. See you next week.


	5. Maybe Not So Alone Afterall

There were so very many things that Weiss hated about her father. She hated how he always had to be in control of everything. She hated how unwavering he was in his decisions once they were made. She hated how unfeeling he was, especially after her mother had passed and her sister had left. And most of all she hated his money. She hated how he thought that all of that money could somehow make up for how uncaring he was, how little understanding he had for how other people feel, especially Weiss.

But loathe as she was to admit it, she was grateful for that money now. It was the only thing keeping her housed and fed at this point. Without it, she wouldn't be able to afford to rent the house she had just moved into. She wouldn't be able to afford to pay someone to take care of her in her current state. She wouldn't even be able to put food onto her table.

She was glad to be out of the rehab center. It had been necessary in the immediate aftermath of her, accident, to stay there for a couple of weeks. Adjusting to her current condition had taken quite some time. And even at present she was still not comfortable with it. But she had to get out of there. Crippled as she might be, she had no desire to stay in such a place any longer than necessary. It only served to remind her of how weak she felt. How utterly powerless she was to stop him.

If there was one thing that Weiss could be thankful for, it was James. The ultimate employee of her father, James had been a butler for the Schnees for longer than Weiss could remember. He had served the family faithfully and gone far beyond the call of duty more times than any war hero could claim. If Weiss were to admit it to herself, James was more of a father to her than her actual father had ever been.

Today was her second day of living on her own. She couldn't help but notice how quiet it was without servants around. It left her feeling far more uneasy than she was willing to admit. James could only come by in the morning and the evening to help her with her meals. He had to keep up appearances at Schnee Manor after all.

The house felt a whole lot bigger to Weiss than it really was. Every sound she made echoed in the darkness that stretched out in front of her, further exacerbating how small she was feeling all by herself. When she had first moved in she had stood by the front door, flipping the lights on and off, hoping against hope that her eyes might be able to notice the difference, that it had all just been some kind of terrible dream.

When that had not worked, she had angrily switched the light off, knowing that she shouldn't be surprised by the development. This was what she deserved. There was no point in getting worked up over things beyond her control.

She was currently sitting in the room she had designated her bedroom, actually the dining room, wondering what she was supposed to do now. She had managed to create a general map of the house in her head, the task being incredibly easy due to how much smaller it was than the house she was used to. She could spend the rest of her day lying in bed, just as she had the day prior. But she was beginning to grow restless.

Her usual habit of pacing the halls to alleviate some of her pent up energy had been quickly snubbed when she had managed to walk into two separate walls, three times in rapid succession that very morning. The headache alone had been enough to deter her from any more unnecessary wandering, let alone the massive bruise her ego had taken.

All of that left her with nothing else to do but to sit about moping in a rather comfortable armchair that James had brought in for her. For all the things Weiss could and was complaining about in her head, the incredible softness of her chair was not one of them. She was almost starting to think that just sitting in her chair all day might not be the worst choice she could make. She was beginning to warm up to the idea of taking a well deserved afternoon nap when the unthinkable happened.

The doorbell rang.

What the hell was she supposed to do about that? Of all of the possible problems she had foreseen and accounted for given her situation, the thought that someone might come to her house was unthinkable. Who could possibly be at her door?

It couldn't be James because he wasn't supposed to be back before seven. There was no way it had gotten that late so quickly. And even then, James had a key. He would have let himself in and announced his presence. Why oh why did her life have to be harder than it already was?

Weiss fought with herself over the proper course of action. The rational, thinking part of her brain was telling her that under no circumstance should she try to answer the door in her current condition. There was no telling what might happen. The feeling part of her brain agreed with her reason. Why get up out of her comfy chair? The people would eventually go away and then she could take her nap.

But then there was her subconscious. The part of her that was all prim princess and proper manners. The part of her that had been both figuratively and, occasionally literally, beaten into her. The part of herself that she hated the most, but seemed most powerless to control. It was, of course, this part of Weiss that led her to cautiously find her way out of her room, into the hall, and towards the front door.

She knew that this was almost certainly going to be a mistake, that something terrible was going to happen when she opened the door. But despite that, she continued to inch her feet along the floor and her hand along the wall until finally she found the hard wood of her front door. Deciding that she would rather seem rude and play it safe, Weiss made sure to slip the deadbolt chain into place before unlocking the door and turning the knob.

Through the thin crack in the doorway, she knew that warm sunlight was pouring into an otherwise dusky house. She could feel its soothing rays on her bare arm. To her great disappointment, but with little surprise to Weiss, she could still not see any discernible difference in light levels with the door open. Again thoughts of the likelihood of her possibly never being able to see again began to resurface.

The possibility had been explained to her when she had first been admitted to the rehabilitation center. The doctors had told her in no uncertain terms that there was about a fifty percent chance of her never regaining her sight. The news had taken some time to sink in for the poor girl. At first, the news had glanced right off of her. Then, as time passed and Weiss had to start coping without the use of her most integral sense, she had begun to panic.

There had been a whole day where she couldn't bring herself to do anything but sit in her bed and cry into the bandages that had been wrapped to her face. She had allowed herself only that day to pity herself. After that, she held her head high, though still not quite as high as before. She had to be strong, she had to be brave, she didn't have a choice. She was all alone now. There was no turning back. She had to learn how to pick herself back up.

* * *

Summer had always though of herself as a rather introverted person. There's no doubt that she's the nicest person you could ever meet. It's simply not possible for anyone to think anything but the best of her. And she always thought the best of anyone she met. But if it were up to her, she wouldn't be meeting nearly as many people as she did.

Make no mistake, Summer's as friendly and cheerful as any one person can be, more so even. But it had taken her years, decades of practice to be able to act how she does. She couldn't count the number of nights she had spent in high school, looking at her reflection in the mirror, practicing how to speak to people, how to act. None of it came naturally for her.

But when she had heard that a new neighbor was moving in next door, she had felt almost obligated to welcome them to the neighborhood. After all, they were almost certainly going to be more than simple acquaintances, if the previous neighbors were any kind of example. So Summer did what did best, she baked a cake. Who could say no to a chocolate frosted confetti cake?

That had been the easy part. The hard part was convincing her lazy family, Oum love them, to come with her to welcome the new neighbors to town. Tai had been by far the easiest to convince. Just one activation of her feminine charms had him in a puddle on the floor. Her daughters, not surprisingly, had been a whole lot more stubborn

They both seemed rather down in the dumps when Summer spoke with them, which wasn't like them at all, especially for Yang. They both said something to the effect of, go away, when she entered their rooms and had emphatically refused to do anything that required leaving their rooms, much less the house. Summer knew how it felt to be a moody teenager, as though all of her problems were the end of her life as she knew it. But she also knew that all of that wasn't true at all.

Yang was won over in a matter of sentences. All she needed was the usual, your mother loves you very much and is so proud of everything you've done, speech. Not to say that parenting was formulaic or contrived, but, you know. Ruby on the other hand had been far more difficult. It seemed that her poor mood ran deeper than just a simple slump.

Summer's conversation with Ruby lasted nearly half and hour and when it was over, Summer still wasn't sure if it had really worked. Ruby had reluctantly agreed to come along with the rest of the family to meet the new neighbors. But even after their mother daughter heart to heart, Ruby still wouldn't tell her what seemed to be the matter. Summer let the matter be, promising herself that she would revisit it at a later date.

Summer told her uncooperative family that they were to dress nicely and meet her in the living room by three o'clock. She hoped that there would be someone home when they went over. Then again, not everyone had Sundays off. But at worst they would simply go by again later in the evening.

* * *

"Ruby, would you mind getting the cake out of the fridge?"

"Fine." Ruby did as her mother asked. The cake really had turned out very nice, not that Ruby was really able to appreciate it. It had been nearly a full day since her disappointing revelation that she had missed her chance and she was still feeling majorly bummed out.

If the feeling of worthlessness and self-loathing weren't so familiar, Ruby might have wondered why she cared so much. She encountered strangers everyday. She probably inconvenienced them just as much as she had that mysterious girl. If anything, she should be happy that she hadn't caused the girl to break an arm or kill a puppy; don't even ask.

Ruby had caused the girl undue strife, that much was abundantly clear to the cake-bearer. But what she continued to overlook as she kept revisiting the memory, over and over, was how the girl had reacted to her. Or more importantly, how the girl's reaction had been almost completely caused by something that Ruby still didn't know. Ruby could only focus on how she had screwed up, on all of the things she did wrong, on everything she should have done differently.

She had managed to blot out absolutely everything that wasn't some kind of criticism of herself. She could only give credence to the things she did wrong. It happened more often than she realized. She had a rather nasty habit of doing that. She also had a rather bad practice of not paying any attention to where she was or what she was doing.

"Yang, why don't you ring the doorbell."

"Why do I have to do it?" the blonde complained. "Dad's closer."

"Your father is carrying the basket, dear." Summer replied.

"Fine," Yang huffed as she stabbed her finger at the doorbell.

The family of four could here the doorbell echo inside the house. None of the lights were on and no other sounds could be heard from the house. The silence stretched on as the welcoming committee waited patiently for someone to come to the door. The quiet grew more awkward as almost a full minute passed without any change in the situation.

"Maybe they aren't home," Yang offered, turning to Summer and shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe you're right," she replied, a frown starting to form on her face.

Then they finally did hear something. It was the sound of the lock. They heard the deadbolt move and then saw the doorknob turn. After a beat the door began to open slowly, swinging gently out but stopping just a handful of inches after it started.

The family all looked through the crack expectantly, then lowered their gaze to see a girl just about cowering behind the door, only sticking her head out a couple inches to peek through the doorway.

"Can I, help you with something?"

The girl's voice was small. Smaller even than her diminutive stature would suggest. But despite that, it was unwavering in its conviction.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Summer. This is my family. We saw that you just moved in and we just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood. Are your parents home by any chance?"

Instead of a reply, Summer was met solely with silence.

A silence that stretched on.

And on.

And on.

The girl gave no indication that she had heard the greeting, or was planning on giving a response.

Summer turned to her family and saw a similar sight. Yang and Ruby both stood flabbergasted, mouths hanging open. Tai looked as though he was seeing a ghost. The whole thing was beginning to make Summer feel uneasy.

She turned to face the barely open door once more only to watch as it slammed closed with a dull thud. What in the world had just happened?

* * *

Author's Note: Long time coming right? My bad. I'm struggling with stuff, not the least of which is where I want to take this story. If you have any suggestions or just want to yell at me for being so slow to update just leave me a message. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to seeing you in the next chapter.


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